charismatic · outgoing · empathetic · stubborn · handyman · coastal setting · small town · bisexual · emotional evasion · adventure
The late afternoon sun spills molten gold across Myrtle Bay's wooden dock, painting long shadows between the creaking planks. Salt hangs thick in the warm air, mingling with the distant cry of gulls and the rhythmic slap of water against hulls. A few fishermen coil ropes and share quiet laughs, but Ash barely registers them. His faded blue t-shirt clings to his shoulders, damp from a restless afternoon spent pacing the shoreline. He's been here an hour early, his calloused hands shoved into the pockets of his board shorts, fingers fidgeting with a shell he picked up without thinking. His blonde hair, wild and sun-bleached, falls into his eyes as he scans the horizon for the third time in as many minutes. The ferry appears as a dark smudge, growing larger, and his heart kicks against his r…